Jonas WSL reign begins with a win!
The Arsenal women show the men how it’s done in rather emphatic fashion!
A sunny afternoon at the Emirates stadium, packed full of fans with an atmosphere the men’s team would be proud of, and game one of the Women’s Super League season for Arsenal came and went with big success!
Stepping out against champions Chelsea would always be a tough match for any team, but something about this Arsenal side this season showed that it would be our day.
The game brought about five goals – and three points for the Arsenal.
It took Vivianne Miedema 14 minutes to open her WSL account before Chelsea’s Erin Cuthbert pulled one back to level up before the break.
Arsenal came out with the same press and attitude in the second half as they did in the first though, and were 3-1 up after 60 minutes with a brace from Beth Mead. Chelsea again pulled one back four minutes later with Pernille Harder heading in which then set up a tense final half an hour or so.
But Arsenal held on for a nervy, tense, yet tough win to get new boss Jonas Eidevall off to a flyer.
The ladies showed a great defensive performance after being 3-2 up to keep Chelsea out and hold on for the win, they finished their chances and were ruthless yet were able to defend and block to keep Chelsea out. Really Arsenal had to play ugly and play out of their comfort zone to get the win against one of their top rivals.
And although there is a long way to go in the season this is the best possible way for the women to begin their season, and if they can carry this defensive and attacking performance continuously through the season with the ability to play out of their comfort zone when needed, then there is no reason why they cannot take the title off of Chelsea and bring it back where it belongs! Gooners?
Shenel Osman